Unique and Cool Things to Do While You’re in Venezuela

A lot of people associate Venezuela with kidnapping, round-the-clock protests, armed militant movements, and police brutality. However, this is not really the case.

Over the years, I’ve visited this lovely country four times, and I can say that it’s quite a safe country to visit. Venezuela is full of cool, unusual, and exciting things to do and see.

If you are planning a trip, you should check out my most favorite things to see and do you in this vibrant and lively country.

Take a picture in front of the drowned church of Potosi

According to my friends, Potosi used to be a town in Tachira, Bolivar. It got submerged in water in 1985 when the government built a dam. It was only in 2010 when the town of Potosi re-emerged because of the long drought that the country experienced.

Most parts of the town got destroyed by the flood. But, hauntingly enough, you can find a church ruin still standing somewhere in the town. They say that the cross that emerged out of the flood water symbolizes the spirit of the town that got washed away.

Marvel at the magnificence of the Mount Roraima

Have you ever watched the Disney Pixar Movie Up? It’s about this old man who tied thousands of balloons to his house so he can fulfil the dream of his deceased wife to settle in Paradise Falls.

Mount Roraima is the inspiration behind Paradise Falls. Like in the animated movie, Mount Roraima is a marvellous sight. It resembles a floating island that sits 7,761 feet above the floor of the forest.

Get your cameras ready for the Relampago del Cataumbo

I’m a huge fan of lighting storms. There’s something about this weather phenomenon that makes it so enchantingly beautiful. If you love capturing photos of lightning storms, then you should head near the Lake Maracaibo.

Lightning storms occur here anywhere between 140 to 160 nights out in a year. Most of the time, the lighting storms last up to 10 hours or more. You can see up to 280 strikes per hour on every lighting storm event on the Lake Maracaibo.

Beat the heat with a weird treat from the Coromoto Ice Cream Shop

Aside from the Plaza Las Heroinas, Chorros de Milla Zoo and the Botanical Garden of Merida, there’s one more good reason why you should travel all the way to the Estado Bolivariano de Mérida

You see, there’s an interesting ice cream shop that offers the wildest treats. They make more than 900 different ice cream flavors at the Coromoto Ice Cream shop. It would be best if you know how to read in Spanish so you can figure out which flavors to try.

Mushrooms in wine and trout are just two examples of the bizarre flavors that visitors can choose from.

They definitely know how to tickle taste buds at the Cormoto!

See the enchanting Cerro Sarisarinama

The Cerro Sarisarinama is a remote destination in Venezuela. Only a few people get to visit the area. I was able to join an expedition in a small part of the Cerro Sarisarima.

The area has sinkholes that measure up to 1,150 feet wide and 1,000 feet deep.

While the other sinkholes on the mountain are not as wide or deep, they are certainly still impressive.

See The Helix in Caracas, Venezuela

My friends and Venezuela told me that it was originally designed to become a bustling shopping centre back in 1956. Four years late, the funding for the project dried up.

The government decided to use it to house a number of agencies. The building suffered from structural damages in 1992 after it was bombed but they made a few changes to it so they can use it again.

Nowadays, they use it as the office for the Directorate of Intelligence and Prevention Services (DISIP).

See how the Tower of David looks today

The Tower of David was designed as a multi-storey commercial building. It was supposed to house the headquarters office of the Confinanzas Group bank.

There were so many plans for the 45-storeys tall skyscraper. However, all these plans crumbled to dust when the head of the Confinanzas Group bank, David Brillembourg, died in 1933. To make things worst, Venezuela suffered from a major banking crisis in the same decade.

Years after the banking group stopped the construction project, thousands of people turned the building into their homes, making the Torre de David the tallest slum in the country.

My last few travel tips to Venezuela

Aside from checking out the unique destinations, I laid out above, you should also enjoy trying the delicious food in Venezuela. There’s plenty of food items that you won’t find elsewhere such as the peanut butter fruit, blackberry jam fruit, banana passionfruit, and tonka beans.

Don’t forget to try mouthwatering dishes such as the Quesillo, a sweet and creamy flan, and Pabellón Criollo, a pulled beef dish with rice and beans.

Also, I highly recommend being friends with the locals. They’re terribly nice. You should definitely learn how to speak Spanish so you can communicate with the local with great ease. They can tour you around the city and some of the amazing parts of the country.

So, which of the activities I shared above would you like to try when you fly to Venezuela? I certainly would love to hear your ideas.